Katni constable says crowd tried to burn police station:Claims ‘blaze it down’ remark, barely escaped alive; TI suspended three days after incident

Katni police constable Awadhesh Mishra said a mob of over 40 people attacked Bakal police station on the night of October 22. “We tried to calm them, but they did not listen. They assaulted Head Constable K.K. Shukla, who was seriously hurt. When the Station In-charge arrived, they also pushed and shoved her,” he said. Police said Karni Sena officials were involved in the attack. A case has been registered against 40 people, including five named individuals. Karni Sena, however, called the allegations baseless. Three days after the incident, SP suspended Station In-charge Rashmi Sonkar. What exactly was this whole matter? Who were those who attacked the police station? To find this out, Bhaskar’s team reached Bakal town, 70 km from Katni. Here, they spoke to the policemen as well as those against whom a case has been registered. Read this ground report… Constable Mishra said – That scene was terrifying
When Bhaskar’s team reached Bakal police station, they met Constable Awadhesh Mishra, who was on duty. On the night of October 22, he was one of the three policemen present on duty. Recalling the incident of that night, he said, ‘It was around 9:30 PM. Only three of us were on staff at the police station. Just then, some people brought a boy named Lucky Soni. He said that someone had abused him and threatened to kill him over the phone. Our Head Constable KK Shukla ji was just writing his report when a crowd arrived at the police station. The crowd insisted that only Station In-charge Rashmi Sonkar would write the report. Shukla ji explained to them that Madam was at home. She will come, until then I will write the report. But those people were not ready to agree. Many of them seemed to be heavily drunk. Suddenly, they started abusing Shukla ji and then began assaulting him. We three people were helpless in front of a crowd of 40 people. They beat Shukla ji so much that he fell down. It started with a minor incident of assault
Three days after this incident, on October 25, SP Katni suspended TI Rashmi Sonkar. When Bhaskar spoke to her before her suspension, she said that on the night of October 19, a youth named Kunal Rajput had filed a complaint of assault against two people. We immediately registered an FIR. On October 20, some Karni Sena officials came to the police station and started chanting slogans demanding immediate arrest of the accused. We assured them that action would be taken soon. Due to law and order duty during Diwali, the arrests could not be made, but on October 22, we arrested the accused in this case. Despite this, Karni Sena people came to the police station again in the afternoon and chanted slogans. They blocked the road. When we explained, they agreed and ended their protest and left. TI said – this attack was pre-planned
Regarding the incident of the attack on the police station that night, she says – I was at home when loud noises of commotion started coming from outside. I went out in my home clothes and saw that a crowd was creating a ruckus at the police station. My eyes fell on KK Shukla, whom the crowd was brutally beating. I entered the crowd to save him. I tried to stop people by shouting, but they also pushed and shoved me. They only left when Shukla ji fell unconscious. I immediately informed senior officials and sent Shukla ji to the hospital. Rashmi Sonkar believes that this attack was pre-planned. The complaint of Lucky Soni, over whose FIR this dispute arose, was being written. Police registered a case against 5 people
In this matter, the police have registered a case under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against 5 named accused – Shakti Singh, Bhaskar Rajput, Santosh Vishwakarma, Dr. Prajapati, and Nikhil Tamrakar, along with 35-40 other unknown individuals. Katni ASP Santosh Kumar Dehariya said – A case has been registered based on CCTV footage and other evidence. Its investigation has been handed over to Sub-Inspector Kishore Dwivedi of Slimnabad police station. Currently, no arrests have been made. Accused said – Police beat us and tore their own uniform
Contrary to police claims, the story of the named accused Shakti Singh is quite different. Shakti Singh alleges that the police brutalized him. He said – Lucky Soni from the village came to me scared. He told me that a Muslim boy had threatened to cut him up over the phone. When we went to the police station to file a complaint against him, the police told us that we were trying to act like big leaders. They caught me, Bhaskar, and Lucky, locked us inside, and brutally beat us. When I fainted, one policeman started pretending to faint himself. The policemen hit themselves, tore their uniforms, and blamed us. This is an absolute lie. I demand an impartial investigation into this matter. Another accused, Santosh Prajapati, stating himself innocent, said- It was my daughters’ birthday that day. I was passing by the police station and saw some people standing. I also stopped there. A policeman asked me about my passport, and I came home. At that time, everything was calm there. Still, my name was put in the FIR. I am being falsely implicated. Karni Sena officials said – This is a conspiracy to defame us
After Karni Sena’s name came up in this whole matter, the organization has also presented its side. Karni Sena’s Divisional Spokesperson Shailendra Singh Baghel has clearly denied any role of the organization in the incident of the night of October 22. He said – Karni Sena had staged a peaceful protest for the arrest of the accused in the October 19 case. On the afternoon of October 22, when the accused were arrested and the police explained it to us, we had ended the protest. All our office bearers had returned to Katni. On October 23, we learned from the media that there had been an assault at the police station and Karni Sena’s name was being dragged into it. Baghel has demanded a high-level inquiry into this matter. He said – CCTV cameras are installed in the police station. Their DVR should be seized and investigated to find out who all were there that night. This lie is being spread to defame us. We respect the uniform. If such an incident has occurred, then action should be taken against the culprit, even if he is my own brother.